Sampling device for beans and the like



' feu-2,1926.

J. H. MCFARLAND SAMPLING DEVICE FOR BEANS AND THE LIKE Filed Nov. 5, 1922 INVENTOR ATTORNEY JOHN H. MGFARLAID, OFMERRILL, MICHIGAN.

SAMPLING DEVICE FOR BEANS AND THE LIKE.

Application led November 3, 1922. Serial No. 598,818.

o #ZZ vvii/7:0722, t may concern Be. it known that l, .loriN H. MCFARLAND, a citizen ot the lvlnited States, residing at lrlerrill, in the county ot Saginaw and State of Michigan, have invented certain new and use'liul improvements in Sampling Devices 'or 'Beans and the like; and l do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description ot the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to bean sorting and pertains more particularly to sampling devices adapted to be attached to bean sorting machines and the like, whereby accurately averaged samples may be automatically taken from the bean discharge end ot' a bean sorting machine, or from a number of such n'iachines simultaneouslw the average samples being temporarily stored until needed and then the sample from any particular machine or an averagesample from any group of machines may be drawn by the inspector and automatically delivered at his station for further inspection.

As is well-known in the art, beans and similar materials are usually sorted for color, either by hand or by special equipment, the interior beans being removed and the good beans delivered from the soiting` machine through a spout into'storage.

Heretotore it has been'customary to take samples of the good beans from the storage pile for the purpose of ascertaining' the grade or quality ot the product, this grade beingl determined by taking a sample ot the product and counting the good and the interior beans, thus obtaining the percentage ot interior beans in the product and thereby est al'ilishing the grade.

lily present invention enables the inspector to remain at his station and to automatically take samples ot the good beans from any one machine, or from any combination or group oi machines, and he may do this at any time. without the knowledge of the operator ot the machine. The samples so drawn are delivered conveniently to his station.

lilith the above and certain other objects in view which will appear later in the speci Iication, my invention comprises the devices described and claimed and the equivalents thereof.

ln the. drawings, Fig. 1 is a front diagrannnatic view of a plurality ot beau sorting machines embodying my sampling device.

Fig. :2 is a detail, partly in section, show- .ing` a valve in the delivery spout.

Fig. 3 is a perspective detail of a device -lor actuating all the sampling valves simultaneously.

Fig. l is a plan view of a sampling trough as applied to each sorting machine.

Fig. 5 is a part longitudinal section of the trough shown in Fig. 4.

Fig. 6 is a perspective detail of the device employed in the sampling trough for arranging the beans preparatory to sampling.

F 7 is a diagrammatic View showing correlated a sorting machine, spouts, valves and sampling means.

As is clearly shown in the drawings, the device consists in the usual sorting machines 1, 2, 3, l which are arranged in rovvsin a sorting room in the usual manner, each machine provided, as shown in Fig. 1, with a downward delivery spout, as 5, 6, 7, 8, for good beans. These delivery spouts may conveniently deliver into a collecting spout 9, which discharges into the inspectors receptacle 10. Each delivery spout is provided with a valve 11-see Fig. 2--this valve being preferably held in normally closed position by a spring 12 or its equivalent. The valve may be pulled open by means of a cord 13, or similar means, the cord traveling over pulleys 14C passing through holes in a` perforated plate 15 or its equivalent. This plate may be pivoted at one edge and provided with a handle 18, by whichthe Aplate may be tilted so as to raise and lower the cords 13.`

Underneath the plate, knots orprojections 16 are provided on each cord. When the handle 18 is pulled down, tilting the plate 15 downward, all the cords are pulled simultaneously. The end of each cord projects down below the plate 15, as at 17, so that any one cord may, be pulledl independently without disturb-ing the plate 15. Thus when handle 18 is pulled down, all of the valves 5, G, 7, o 4are opened simultaneously, or when any one cord is pulled, as for example cord 17, its corresponding 'valve 13 Will be opened and the small sample .Which has accumulated in the upper part of delivery spout 5 will be delivered through collecting spout 9 and discharged into the receptacle 10.

I also provide at the delivery end of the sorting machine apron means for automati- `24 is provided at aperture 24, so

' ture is partly small sample from the good beans delivered by each of the sorting machines l, 2, 3, ctc. This sampling device is shown in detail in Figs. 4, 5, 6. Fig. 4 is a top plan View of one of the deliverytroughs, as 19. rlhis trough takes all the good beans as delivered by the apron of a sorting machine and extracts a representative sample, which it delivers to spouts 5, G, etc. While discharging the main quantity over the trough end 25 into any suitable storage, as is usual in sorting machines. After dropping off the apron into the trough 19, the beans first pass under a vertical clearance baiile gate QO-see Figs. 5kand 6. This baflle gate insures that the beans mustpass in one laye-r, thus permitting a proper sample to be extracted, since cally drawing said entire quantity of lit not only prevents them from traveling down one upon the other, but also checks the tendency to bound when dropped from the apron into the trough.` Such bounding would interfere with the selecting of a proper average sample.

f A pair of deiiectingwings 21, 2l draws the stream of beans closer into the form of a traveling ribbon. Beyond the Wings 21 a transverse aperture 22 formed in the bottom trough 19 receives a sample part of the beans. This sample is usually only a very small proportion, say, one per cent, of the total quantity passing through the trough. A. closure or slide 23 formed with a notch K that the aperture may be opened te deliver samples into a delivery spout, as or closed to allow all of the beansk to pass over the end 25 of trough 19 into storage. Then the aperclosed the sample taken in a given length of time is smaller', but equally representative.

Delivery spout 5 is located directly beneath aperture 22, as shown in Figs. 4 and 5.

vBy the means above described I have produced a simple and inexpensive, yet etlective and accurate device whereby the sample inspector of a bean sorting or similarV plant can easily and quickly, and without the knowledge of any individual operator, remove average samples of the product of each machine, or of any group of machines, and thereby maintain supervision over the quality of the output of any one machine, or of the entire installation.

- Having thus described my invention, What Iclaim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

f1. In combination, a plurality of bean sorting machines, each having a sampling device and a sample delivery spout with a self-closing gate therein, a collecting spout communicating with yall of said delivery spouts and extending to an inspectors station, operating cords secured to each gate respectively and extending to said inspectors station and a cord-actuating device at each station adapted to simultaneously actuate all of said cor-ds Without interfering with the otherwise independent operation of each cord. l

2. In combination, a plurality of bean sorting machines, each having a sample delivery spout With a self-closing gate therein and a sampling device including a baille gate adapted to distribute the passing beans in a single layer, a collecting spout communicating with all of said sample delivery spouts and'extending to an inspectors station, operating cords secured to each gate respectively and extending to said inspectors-station and a cord-actuating member at said station adapted tosimultaneously actua-te all of said cords Without interfering with the otherwise independent operation of each cord.

3. In combination, a plurality of sorting machines, a sampling device for each machine, valve-controlled conduits extending from each sampling device to an inspectors station, means operable from the inspectors station for independently actuating the valve of any conduit to thereby deliver to said station a representative sample from one of said machines, and a device adapted to engage and simultaneously actuate all of said valve actuating means to deliver-'a composite sample from all of said machines.

4. In combination, a plurality of sorting machines, means for segregating and temporarily storing a representative sample of the sorted product, of each machine respectively, said means including a trough having avvertical clearance baffle plate, deecting Wings and a bottom formed with a sample discharge aperture provided with an adjustable closure, a conduit for each sampler extending from ,each aperture toan inspectors station, a device operable from the inspectors station for releasing said stored sample in a selected conduit and permitting said sample to flow to said 'sta tion, and a de' vice adapted to simultaneously engage all of said storing means and to actuate the same to simultaneously releaseall of the stored samp-les. n

In testimony whereof I afiixv my signature.

JOHN n. MCFARLAND. 

